Wonderfully unpredictable: Asian salads

Susan Semenak, Postmedia News07.08.2013

“Asian salads are built around layers and layers of flavour and a combination of textures and colours,” says chef Antonio Park. This one features julienned vegetables tossed with Park’s herbed Asian dressing and finished with basil leaves and sesame seeds.Pierre Obendrauf
/ The Gazette

Salads, he says, are meant to be fun, especially at the height of summer when local produce is at its tender, crunchy or leafy freshest.

“Western salads are pretty predictable: a vinaigrette of olive oil and vinegar with leafy greens,” said Park, from behind the counter at his Westmount restaurant Park.

He’s known mostly for his sushi and sashimi, but the inventive Japanese- and Korean-inspired salads on his menu have inspired followers of their own. They feature grated and thinly sliced vegetables, leafy greens and fresh herbs as well as fruit and nuts and sometimes grilled chicken or fish or lightly seared lamb tataki.

“Asian salads are built around layers and layers of flavour and a combination of textures and colours. The colours are crazy and the ingredients are lively. And they always have a sweet side,” Park says.

The dressing is key. He makes a large batch of basic dressing he keeps in the fridge for two or three weeks and then tweaks to create different dressings. His recipe is simple: a carrot and a sweet onion are puréed in a blender with extra virgin olive oil, rice vinegar and maple syrup until ultrasmooth. The result is a thick, velvety salad with bright flavour and a bold orange colour. It’s perfect, Park says, tossed with leafy greens and a handful of fresh fruit and toasted nuts such as pistachios, almonds or pecans.

He’ll create yet another dressing for an entirely different salad by measuring out one cup of basic dressing and puréeing that with a spoonful of white miso and a handful of fresh basil or mint. He turns out Asian slaw by using a julienne grater to finely shred carrot, daikon, green papaya, underripe mango (or any combination of the above), then tossing them with the herbed dressing and finishing with basil leaves and sesame seeds.

For an even “crazier” dressing with bolder notes, Park adds acidity and saltiness to his basic recipe in the form of Japanese plum paste, a bright purple purée made from salted pickled plums (available at Japanese and Korean grocers) and, for sweetness, maple syrup and the syrup from canned lychees. The salad he dresses with it is more main course than entrée, assembled on a serving plate with thin slices of seared meat, grilled chicken or fish, or crispy tofu. His favourite is lamb tataki, which he prepares by seasoning lamb tenderloin with salt and pepper or the Japanese seven-spice blend called togarashi and then searing it in a very hot pan for 30 seconds on each side so that it is browned on the outside but very rare on the inside.

“You see?” he says, sprinkling a last flourish of sesame seeds over the dish. “Salad doesn’t have to be boring.”

Park Restaurant is at 378 Victoria Ave. in Westmount.

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The essentials for Asian salad

Asian salads are often sweeter than western salads, but not cloyingly so. They often don’t contain salt, either, drawing their subtle saltiness instead from other ingredients. When tossing an Asian summer salad, look for the firmest, liveliest greens available and whatever fruits and vegetables are in season.

Here are a few essential ingredients to have on hand:

Rice vinegar. The Asian answer to balsamic vinegar. Rice vinegar is much less acidic than other vinegars, with a slight saltiness. It has a gentle flavour that is unlikely to overpower a dressing. Look for the unseasoned version.

White (shiro) miso. White miso paste is made from soya beans fermented with rice for a short period. (Darker yellow and red misos are stronger-tasting and saltier, so less suited for dressings). Add a spoonful or two to a dressing for a subtle sweet and salty flavour. Be careful not to overdo it. Look for organic miso paste, which is sure to be without colourants or preservatives.

Japanese plum paste, also known as umeboshi. Available at Japanese and Korean grocers, this bright purple paste is made from pickled, salted plums. It is slightly sour, salty and intensely flavoured. Use it sparingly to add a hint of acidity to a dressing.

Canned lychees. The syrup is sweet and fruity — and the fruits are nice chopped into salad.

Tamari is similar in colour and taste to soy sauce, but it has richer aroma and a smoother, richer taste. That’s because it is made primarily with soybeans, while soy sauce contains soybeans and wheat. Look for organic, wheat-free tamari, which is gluten-free.

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